Just ordered a used Rolex from Ebay... any risks I am missing?

[xrole]

Hi guys. I just purchased a 2020 Skydweller from Ebay, sold as in "nearly new condition with barely any marks", with "boxes, manuals, warranty card and both hang tags." for $14500 (I will pay some taxes on top).

The seller is not a dedicated watch seller, but is established on the platform with over 600 transactions since 2004.

I think I am well protected from scams here, because:

1) The listing is specifically protected by Ebay Buyer Protection - if it is not as described or doesn't arrive, then I get refunded. "With the eBay Money Back Guarantee, we've got you covered. Receive your order or your money back – it's that easy. ".

2) As I paid my credit card, I am protected by my banks anti-fraud protection.

3) The seller offers a 30 day return period, minus return shipping costs.

To me this looks pretty bulletproof to me in terms of my exposure to risk... am I missing anything here or does this in theory look like a pretty solid find?

Thanks,

xrole.

[edisonstar23]

You are right! There are things in place to avoid fraud. However in order for it to be inspected as authentic I think you have to use their escrow service. At that point your “30 day return” only becomes 7 day.

Keep us posted on how the transaction goes.


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[xrole]

Originally Posted by edisonstar23

You are right! There are things in place to avoid fraud. However in order for it to be inspected as authentic I think you have to use their escrow service. At that point your “30 day return” only becomes 7 day.

Keep us posted on how the transaction goes.

There was no escrow service listed on the site and in fact I have never seen that on Ebay.

Originally Posted by RaZCaL

That price is way too cheap. As they say, “if it’s too good to be true…..”

Good luck!

You are correct that it is cheap my the standards of the market price, but still falls at a touch higher than MSRP.

I should be able to immediately take it to a major Rolex boutique to have it checked, right? I live very close to one.

EDIT - I just called my local AD and they said they only send it away to Rolex to be checked which ca take 4-6 weeks. :(

[edisonstar23]

Originally Posted by xrole

There was no escrow service listed on the site and in fact I have never seen that on Ebay.



You are correct that it is cheap my the standards of the market price, but still falls at a touch higher than MSRP.

I should be able to immediately take it to a major Rolex boutique to have it checked, right? I live very close to one.

It’s listed on many eBay listings. But the price is a little too good to be truth regardless of how much higher it is from the msrp. msrp doesn’t matter - it’s market price that matters. I called multiple ADs and many of them don’t have an in house watch maker to verify authenticity and look at the movement. They told me you can bring it in and they’ll look at it to see if it’s real. But they don’t do assessments.

I would feel safe taking it to a boutique and have a sale rep take a look at Sky Dweller. I don’t think there is good fakes for such complicated movement.




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[RaZCaL]

That price is way too cheap. As they say, “if it’s too good to be true…..”

Good luck!

[TimepieceRPP]

Originally Posted by RaZCaL

That price is way too cheap. As they say, “if it’s too good to be true…..”

Good luck!

Agree. Regardless of what colour dials, the market price is at least 20K US.
GOOD LUCK.

[bob sims]

Originally Posted by RaZCaL

That price is way too cheap. As they say, “if it’s too good to be true…..”

Good luck!

Yeah OP has more courage than me.

[Goin2drt]

Back in 1993 I bought a Submariner on Ebay. I was young and stupid. I took it to a Rolex dealer and it was a fake. A very good fake. I was out $3500. Ebay tried to track him down but he was gone.

Lesson learned - I will never, ever, ever, ever buy another watch or high value item on Ebay again. I do not care that it is 20+ yrs later and things have gotten better. WAY too much fraud on Ebay.

Good luck!

[jimcarver]

Originally Posted by Goin2drt

Back in 1993 I bought a Submariner on Ebay. I was young and stupid. I took it to a Rolex dealer and it was a fake. A very good fake. I was out $3500. Ebay tried to track him down but he was gone.

Lesson learned - I will never, ever, ever, ever buy another watch or high value item on Ebay again. I do not care that it is 20+ yrs later and things have gotten better. WAY too much fraud on Ebay.

Good luck!

No wonder it was fake you bought it before ebay was even founded.

[derekhayden]

Since you don't mention any details of the model (dial, material) I will just take the SS white dial as example. You are still looking $8-$10K below market price. $14,500 seems way to low unless the seller doesn't know how to use Google before posting a sale. I hope it works out.

[JonaG]

Why ask now after you’ve ordered it? I hope it turns out to be the deal you think.

[brandrea]

I’d have an appointment with RSC to verify authenticity. Good luck

[DonRickles]

No way. AD only for me baby! I'll wait

[xrole]

Originally Posted by Goin2drt

Back in 1993 I bought a Submariner on Ebay. I was young and stupid. I took it to a Rolex dealer and it was a fake. A very good fake. I was out $3500. Ebay tried to track him down but he was gone.

Lesson learned - I will never, ever, ever, ever buy another watch or high value item on Ebay again. I do not care that it is 20+ yrs later and things have gotten better. WAY too much fraud on Ebay.

Good luck!

Oh man that sucks and I guess it was before buyer protections were in place at Ebay and with credit card. Sorry to hear it!

Originally Posted by derekhayden

Since you don't mention any details of the model (dial, material) I will just take the SS white dial as example. You are still looking $8-$10K below market price. $14,500 seems way to low unless the seller doesn't know how to use Google before posting a sale. I hope it works out.

It is the SS model, black dial on an oyster bracelet. it is around 7k less than the market price on Chrono24.

Originally Posted by JonaG

Why ask now after you’ve ordered it? I hope it turns out to be the deal you think.

Well this should be quite obvious... because otherwise someone else would have quickly bought it or someone from this site may have gone looking for it. after seeing my post. I took a risk, that does not exempt me from asking questions afterwards!

Originally Posted by edisonstar23

It’s listed on many eBay listings. But the price is a little too good to be truth regardless of how much higher it is from the msrp. msrp doesn’t matter - it’s market price that matters. I called multiple ADs and many of them don’t have an in house watch maker to verify authenticity and look at the movement. They told me you can bring it in and they’ll look at it to see if it’s real. But they don’t do assessments.

I would feel safe taking it to a boutique and have a sale rep take a look at Sky Dweller. I don’t think there is good fakes for such complicated movement.

Well there have been some decent fakes like the 'Noob' one (I did some research), but apparently they are still pretty easy to spot. As you say, I I can at least let the sales rep have a look as a quick first check.

Originally Posted by brandrea

I’d have an appointment with RSC to verify authenticity. Good luck

Not sure if there are any "walk in" ones nearby but I will take a look!

Originally Posted by edisonstar23

My friend I think you are about to get burned… back out of it if you can. . . You never heard “if it sounds to good to be truth ….” ???

Also a lot of these dealers like the one you describe have a 100% good reputation on EBay because they will build that account for months on end by selling 1 to 2 dollar items and eventually they take the leap and score high by selling a high ticket item to a trusting and naive consumer.


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I am not completely naive. If I did not have the Ebay buyer protection, and my credit card protection, I would not even consider it. The seller is advertising an authentic Sky Dweller complete with box, papers and warranty card, and if it isn't authentic then I am covered by that.

[edisonstar23]

Originally Posted by xrole

Oh man that sucks and I guess it was before buyer protections were in place at Ebay and with credit card. Sorry to hear it!



It is the SS model, black dial on an oyster bracelet. it is around 7k less than the market price on Chrono24.



Well this should be quite obvious... because otherwise someone else would have quickly bought it or someone from this site may have gone looking for it. after seeing my post. I took a risk, that does not exempt me from asking questions afterwards!


Well there have been some decent fakes like the 'Noob' one (I did some research), but apparently they are still pretty easy to spot. As you say, I I can at least let the sales rep have a look as a quick first check.



Not sure if there are any "walk in" ones nearby but I will take a look!



I am not completely naive. If I did not have the Ebay buyer protection, and my credit card protection, I would not even consider it. The seller is advertising an authentic Sky Dweller complete with box, papers and warranty card, and if it isn't authentic then I am covered by that.

Maybe the seller is dumb and sold it for 6k under. And totally dismissed Ebay’s suggested price when listing the SkyDweller.

Please keep us posted how the transaction works out… hopefully you get lucky and you can have a proper incoming post.


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[xrole]

Originally Posted by edisonstar23

Maybe the seller is dumb and sold it for 6k under. And totally dismissed Ebay’s suggested price when listing the SkyDweller.

Please keep us posted how the transaction works out… hopefully you get lucky and you can have a proper incoming post.


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Yes, I ordered this in the full knowledge that it is lower than the market price and I am prepared to deal with the hassle of reporting it to my Ebay and cc provider if it turns out to be a scam. Fingers crossed.

[Andad]

Good luck.

Hope your refund is quick and easy.

[edisonstar23]

If it was a submariner I would want that watch opened up and get it inspected by a good watch dealer or watchmaker. I’ve heard there are excellent clones for Subs….


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[blufinz52]

I just checked eBay sold listings for Skydwellers and they were all above $20K. That's curious.

[edisonstar23]

My friend I think you are about to get burned… back out of it if you can. . . You never heard “if it sounds to good to be truth ….” ???

Also a lot of these dealers like the one you describe have a 100% good reputation on EBay because they will build that account for months on end by selling 1 to 2 dollar items and eventually they take the leap and score high by selling a high ticket item to a trusting and naive consumer.


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[edisonstar23]

Good thing it’s that you are protected multiple ways by paying with your credit card. From my experience - you report a fraudulent transaction and you get your money back automatically.

However, I have never reported a fraudulent transaction of 16k.


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[Joearch]

Interested in how this turns out. Very risky IMHO. Post back when you get a legit form of verification. When are you receiving the watch?

[xrole]

Originally Posted by Joearch

Interested in how this turns out. Very risky IMHO. Post back when you get a legit form of verification. When are you receiving the watch?

I should receive it by the 24th/25th of this month.

It would be super risky if I paid by bank transfer or outside of Ebay. But by paying through Ebay, at the standard checkout with my credit card, on a payment protected auction, I have clear avenues to get my money back.

To check this I just did two things:

1) I called my credit card provider and explained the situation in detail to them. They said that in the first instance I should go through Ebay to get my money back. If Ebay for whatever reason fails then I can make a claim with them. Assuming that I receive the watch, they advised to video myself opening the box so that I have as much evidence as possible as to the condition etc. If I do not receive the watch, then they would also process the claim.

2) I called Ebay and explained the situation in detail to them. They said that I am protected by their buyer protection and if I don't receive the watch I can launch a claim with them within 30 days. They also said that if I receive the watch, but believe it to not be authentic, then I can raise a claim within 30 days to send it back for a full refund. If the seller does not refund, then they would refund. They also said that by paying by credit card it automatically opens a PayPal "guest account" which has 180 days of buyer protection with which to make a claim.

At this point I feel reasonably (ie to a reasonable extent based on the information at my disposal) confident that I am covered in the worst cases through those layers of purchase and fraud protection. Lets see how it turns out, at the very least it could be a exciting couple of weeks one way or the other...

[sp5702]

I just purchased a used 16803 from a private party who purchased it from a dealer on eBay. Was on an aftermarket bracelet (although real gold center links) with a clasp that was meant for a 16610 (different part numbers).

I don’t mess with ebay…much higher chance of Frankenwatches. There’s way better options out there.

[myanezt]

I'm new here, sorry for the question, how safe is buy a timepiece here in the classified forum?

[joli160]

Bargain, well done. You should be well enough protected. Hope it will work out fine for you.

Personally I do not buy on e-bay, strictly from verified trusted sellers and gladly pay more for peace of mind. Surely I overpaid but i don’t want to be bothered by returns and having a watch inspected etc.

Your SA nor AD manager is not qualified to verify the watch imho, instead find a Rolex trained watchmaker to open the case and check out the movement.

[PRSWILL]

Old thread

[garyk]

I would not open, turn it around and send it back, stop payment, etc., etc., run don’t walk away from this transaction. There is no way someone would give away a hot property for less than market. Seriously?!

[daveswordfish]

1) what other items has he been selling?

2) many shady sellers, before issuing refunds, will require the buyer give them a 5 star review.

3) even though there are “protections” in place, the odds are that there is something amiss. These days, only a fool would sell something that far below market…especially if they are an established seller.

4) clearly you are concerned…why go down this path then?

Truly hoping it works out fir you….


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[JonaG]

Originally Posted by daveswordfish

1) what other items has he been selling?

2) many shady sellers, before issuing refunds, will require the buyer give them a 5 star review.

3) even though there are “protections” in place, the odds are that there is something amiss. These days, only a fool would sell something that far below market…especially if they are an established seller.

4) clearly you are concerned…why go down this path then?

Truly hoping it works out fir you….


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All very true but the OP clearly knows it all judging by the responses.